Free Speech
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Crime, Free Speech, Sports, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Sports Law, Spaw, Lorts: An Introduction
Juggalo Law returns with an epic post about all things sports. And law. But mainly sports, with some law thrown in there... -
Crime, Free Speech, Gay, Gay Marriage, India, Labor / Employment, Morning Docket, Murder, Violence
Morning Docket: 07.31.12
* Jason Cai, the software engineer convicted in the spring of murdering a young attorney, was sentenced today to life in prison without parole and ordered to pay more than $700,000 to the slain woman’s family. [Mercury News]
* An appeals court revived a discrimination lawsuit filed by a woman against her employer. And nobody cares. Wait, hold on a sec. Her employer is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What, what, whaaaat? [WSJ Law Blog]
* James Holmes, the man accused of last week’s movie theater shooting spree, has been formally charged with 142 criminal counts. They include 24 counts of first-degree murder and 116 counts of attempted murder in the first degree. [Courthouse News Service]
* The Twinkie defense is so played out. Now, courtesy of an ex-Citigroup employee, introducing the brand spanking new “Where’s Waldo” defense. [Reuters]
* India’s largest and oldest television network has accused Nielsen of violating the FCPA by manipulating viewership data in favor of networks that offer bribes. Say it ain’t so! [Hollywood Reporter]
* Chick-fil-A, free speech, zoning laws, and homophobia — all thrown together onto a failure pile in a sadness bowl. Noted First Amendment lawyer Marc Randazza, counsel to ATL, takes to CNN to educate the masses. [CNN]
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Bad Ideas, Facebook, Free Speech, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
Former Prosecutor Allegedly Threatened His Boss on Facebook, Now Faces Criminal Charges
A former Virginia prosecutor allegedly threatened his boss over Facebook. Now, big surprise, he's facing criminal charges.
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Free Speech
Free Speech Must Include The Right To Scream At Traffic Cops
Don't worry, you can scream at meter maids, it's in the Constitution... -
Anthony Kennedy, Free Speech, Quote of the Day, SCOTUS, Supreme Court
Quote of the Day: In Other Supreme Court News…
Everyone has probably forgotten, but the Supreme Court did release another important opinion today, striking down the Stolen Valor Law … -
Defamation, Feminism, Free Speech, Law Schools, Quote of the Day, Religion, Women's Issues
Quote of the Day: Do You Really Want To Slide Down That Slope?
Sandra Fluke opines on free speech in the wake of "slut-gate," and explains why she picked Georgetown Law. -
California, Deaths, Facebook, Federal Judges, Free Speech, Jury Duty, Non-Sequiturs, Sports
Non-Sequiturs: 06.21.12
* Jerry Sandusky’s lawyer, Joe Amendola, has a very lawyerly license plate — and expired tags, too? [Deadspin] * In other sports law news, Darren Heitner says at least one football helmet manufacturer should be afraid, be very afraid, of concussion litigation. [Forbes] * A pop culture blogger, Jenni Maier, is rudely awakened to the boring, sexless, receding-hairline-filled real world of jury duty. [Crushable] * A pair of former Lawyers of the Day, Michael Tein and Guy Lewis, are in trouble again — this time for allegedly acting “recklessly and unprofessionally” towards the judge in a wrongful death case they were handling. [Miami Herald] * The Minnesota Supreme Court rules that a Mortuary Science student was legally flunked for making fun (on Facebook) of the cadaver she had to dissect. Chalk up another point to the Facebook Fun Police. [City Pages] * Senior U.S. District Judge Robert J. Kelleher, the oldest serving federal judge, died at 99 in California. [Associated Press] -
10th Circuit, Free Speech, Google / Search Engines, Job Searches, Law School Deans, Law Schools, Morning Docket, Patents, Richard Posner, SCOTUS, Southern New England School of Law/Umass, Supreme Court, Technology, Unemployment, Wall Street
Morning Docket: 06.08.12
* Only 44% of Americans approve of how the Supreme Court is doing its job, but that’s probably because the other 56% wouldn’t know what the Supreme Court was unless the justices were contestants on a reality show. [New York Times]
* Having nothing to do with the outcome of this Tenth Circuit appeal, apparently a juror in the underlying case had no idea when the First Amendment was adopted. As Bush II would say, is our children learning? [U.S. Tenth Circuit / FindLaw]
* Who’s going to win the “Super Bowl” of Android patent trials? Nobody. Judge Richard Posner has issued a “tentative” order which noted that both sides of the Apple/Google case ought to be dismissed. [Reuters]
* You should’ve “known better”: in case we didn’t make it abundantly clear when we spoke about NALP’s data for the class of 2011, the job market for new law grads is being classified as “brutal.” [National Law Journal]
* U. Chicago Law revolutionized the field of law and economics, but much to their school’s, everyone else copied them. Now they’re thinking up new ways to do the same things. Gunners gotta gun. [Businessweek]
* Say hello to Mary Lu Bilek, the woman who’s been appointed as the new dean of UMass Law. Hopefully she’s not keen on using school credit cards for personal spending like the last dean. [Wall Street Journal]
* Occupy Wall Street protesters can’t sue NYC, its mayor, or its police commissioner, but they can sue the police. And with that news, “F**k tha Police” was sung in drum circles across the tri-state area. [Bloomberg]
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Constitutional Law, Drinking, Free Speech, Lawsuit of the Day, Religion
Idaho Bans Specific Vodka For Being Offensive Towards Mormons
I thought vodka was supposed to make people loosen up... -
Crime, Free Speech, Masturbation, Non-Sequiturs, Sex, Technology, United Kingdom / Great Britain
Non-Sequiturs: 06.04.12
* For some reason, the Supreme Court has hardly ruled on any of the First Amendment cases before it this term. Cue the Twilight Zone theme.[PrawfsBlawg] * New strategy for closing the gender gap: stop relying on mentors so much. Because, you know, Jack Donaghy can only do so much before Liz Lemon has to start figuring stuff out on her own. [Careerist] * He’s not saying your antivirus software is useless, it’s just not exactly useful. [Volokh Conspiracy] * Happy Diamond Jubilee to that elderly English lady who wears big, old-fashioned hats and is always politely waving to large crowds. [Charon QC via Blawg Review] * A man stole a $4,000 gold plated vibrator, but he forgot to nab the charger. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along. [Legal Juice] * What not to do in a judge’s chambers. [Greedy Associates] -
Cars, Free Speech, Police
Free Speech Potpourri: Begging Might Not Be Speech, But Flashing Your 'Headlights' Certainly Is!
Begging might not be free speech, but flashing your headlights is... -
Bad Ideas, Blog Wars, Blogging, Cyberlaw, Eugene Volokh, Free Speech, Media and Journalism, Rank Stupidity, Ridiculousness, Technology
New York Lawmakers Want to Ban Anonymous Commenting. I Wish I Were Kidding.
If they held a contest for stupidest proposed legislation, this would have to win. -
ACLU, Education / Schools, Facebook, Free Speech, Kids, Rank Stupidity, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology
When Will We Stop Punishing Children for Being Children?
The ACLU is defending three teenage girls who were expelled for saying on Facebook that they wanted to kill people. Here's why they shouldn't have been expelled…
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Cyberlaw, Defamation, Document Review, Free Speech, Technology, Texas
Texas Couple Wins Massive Defamation Verdict Against (No Longer) Anonymous Commenters
Anonymous Internet commenters get hit with a $13 million defamation verdict… -
3rd Circuit, American Bar Association / ABA, Barack Obama, Biglaw, Constitutional Law, Federal Government, Free Speech, Guns / Firearms, Legal Ethics, Money, Morning Docket, Old People, Politics, Pornography
Morning Docket: 04.18.12
* Since you’re so funny, crack some jokes about this one, Obama. Senate Republicans will be filing an amicus brief in support of a challenge to the constitutionality of the President’s recess appointments. [New York Times]
* Thanks to this Third Circuit ruling, you can rest easy knowing that you can rely on the First Amendment to protect your homemade sex tapes from all of those strict porn record-keeping and labeling requirements… for now. [Reuters]
* Due to Kelley Drye’s EEOC settlement, the New York State Bar Association is asking firms to end mandatory retirement policies. Because old folks need to make bank till they croak. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* The ABA’s Commission on Ethics 20/20 has decided to ditch its proposal to allow limited nonlawyer ownership of law firms. Cue tears and temper tantrums from the likes of Jacoby & Meyers. [Am Law Daily]
* “If I believe that Chris Armstrong is a radical homosexual activist, I have a constitutional right to express that opinion.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell that to the judge who dismissed your suit, Shirvell. [Detroit Free Press]
* Presenting “her royal hotness”: apparently Pippa Middleton has been seen cavorting around France with gun-toting lawyer Romain Rabillard, of Shearman & Sterling. [Daily Mail]
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Blogging, Defamation, Free Speech, Quote of the Day, Sex
Quote of the Day: That Doesn't Exactly Make Sense, Either
An anonymous commenter's lawyer responds to a libel suit filed by two Las Vegas prosecutors... -
Blog Wars, Blogging, Free Speech, Media and Journalism, Politics
Bad News for Anonymous Commenting
The Daily Kos reports that Senator Joe Lieberman is proposing to strike Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. What does that mean for you? -
Education / Schools, Free Speech, Kids, Privacy, Rank Stupidity, Technology, Twittering
Why the F*** Was This High School Student Expelled for Tweeting the F-Word?
An Indiana high school student was expelled for a 2:30 a.m tweet from his home -- a tweet that was simply a juvenile exploration on the word “f***." You have to be f***ing kidding me.… -
Bad Ideas, Blog Wars, Blogging, Defamation, Free Speech, New Orleans, Rank Stupidity, Technology, U.S. Attorneys Offices
When Anonymous Commenting Goes Real Wrong
Our inbox was flooded over the weekend with the emerging scandal of a prosecommenter (yeah, you read that right) in New Orleans. This is what happens when a federal prosecutor takes his case to the interwebs instead of the court. Bad times… -
Free Speech, Small Law Firms
The Practice: A Lawyer to Emulate -- Marc Randazza
In order to create something -- something important -- you have to first learn from those that have created ahead of you. So who’s on your list? Who’s the lawyer(s) you aspire to be like?